Wukoki West is one of the newest projects to join the array of projects certified through the Sustainable Building Program. Designed to mimic the 3-story Wukoki ruin at Wupatki, the home has southwestern architectural influences from Chaco Canyon’s Pueblo Bonito to La Posada, like Mars Hill. The design of all these precedents also take into account the movement of the sun and moon.

Building on a slope like this has its challenges and great care was taken to protect the site as much as possible during construction.

As a passive solar home, one of the main features is this 650-square foot deck that is located perfectly to capitalize on the low southern sun angle in the winter. With walls on two sides, this deck will be a comfortable outdoor space most of the year.

The concrete floor of this interior space will act as thermal mass, absorbing the solar energy coming in the south windows and storing it like a battery. When temperatures cool at night the mass will cool also, giving its heat to the living area.

An important aspect of sustainable design is an insulative and tight building envelope. This home has spray foam in the 2 X 6 wall cavities....

...and 10-12” in the floor above the garage and the ceiling.

R-5 rigid insulation was added to the exterior. In addition to increasing the insulative value, it also prevents thermal bridging. If you held an infrared camera up to these walls you’d see that they are cold throughout, unlike standard stud-frame construction where the studs can be seen as warmer.

Windows can never be as insulative as a wall, but these exceed Energy Code by 14%.

This is the high-efficiency (95%) boiler that supplies hot water for both heating the home and domestic hot water. The home has tubing in the concrete floors that hot water circulates through providing space heat through the concrete.

The system is divided into zones so temperatures can be better controlled in the different rooms.

The home is both solar thermal- and solar PV- ready. This means that the plumbing and wiring are in place to allow for these systems to be easily installed. This is a line provided for the solar thermal system that will eventually be in place to provide a solar pre-heat before the boiler.

The ceiling fans work in conjunction with the natural ventilation features of the house to cool it without air conditioning.

These cork floors are not only beautiful, but are made from a renewable, sustainably harvested material.

You can’t see it but hidden behind the walls in the basement of this home is 12,000 gallons of rainwater catchment! The basement walls are made with concrete masonry units and there are two “rooms” that are completely closed and sealed to create the storage volume. The rainwater will be used for irrigation of edible and non-edible landscape plantings.

In addition to reducing energy use, the owners also wanted to save water. The home is designed with water conservation in mind. The fixtures are not only attractive but are low flow.

Dual flush toilets conserve water while addressing the complaints some homeowners have of not having enough flow when you need it.

Energy Star appliances not only use less energy than their federal-standard meeting counterparts, they also use less water. Energy Star certified clothes washers like this one use about 25% less energy and 33% less water than regular washers.

The spiral staircase in this home wraps around a column that is the central structural spine of the building, making it a key functional as well as aesthetic element of the building.